When we are constantly engaged in the fight or flight we engage the adrenal glands which then push out cortisol. Cortisol is what we get in the morning to wake us up give us energy and keep us going in the morning. Constant cortisol impacts heart rate, hormone function, blood pressure, and much more. When it stays at a high alert it can create cytokine activity in the body and inflammation throughout the body. As we know chronic inflammation is not good for the body. High stress and flight or fight also can keep our immune system from functioning in the ways we need.
When we are in pain we need to relax so the body can repair the damage causing the pain. When we are stressed we need calming. Each night we need sleep, which is parasympathetic state/rest and digest, so the body can repair and detoxify.
If we can not calm the body this can become Cushing's syndrome, this is why it is important to take measures to manage our stress. The body is signaling that we need to escape a dangerous situation so it is trying to keep you in top moving condition. Your blood flowing, heart pumping, cortisol flowing, brain on high alert. We can become highly sensitive to all the things around us light, temperature, and sound. Which can move us also into depression.
We often get adapted to living in fight or flight mode cause we can go go go and get things done. Which seems like a good thing and what society tells us we need to do. This comes at the expense of the immune and organ function in the body. The body's ability to repair and detoxify. It is important that we can ebb and flow through sympathetic and parasympathetic. This stress on the nervous system can often be why many of you have digestion issues.
One simple technique I believe everyone should know is parasympathetic breathing. Bring in for 6 seconds and then out for 6 seconds. Do this for 2-5 mins if digestion is not working and see if it helps, if you have that moment where you feel food or pills are stuck in your throat or you are having a hard time swallowing try this technique.
As stated in the previous blog eating proteins, fats and minerals help to calm the system. Breathwork is important learning nasal breathing can help calm the body and breathing techniques can do much to support calming in the body.
I will be discussing adaptogens later this month. In the first step, we have to learn what is causing the overload and see if we can reduce or remove what is causing constant stress. Things such as diet or trauma, are things you can resolve and you can put in the work to resolve them. Then you can also add things to your diet and add things like supplements to help aid in calming.
If you would like personal help with your situation please feel free to set up an appointment. These blogs are to help teach and to help you understand what can be causing an imbalance in the body. The recommendations are general and can be overall helpful but some may need some more in-depth support.
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